Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Changjin Lake, a Hundred Battles, a Hundred Victories

Chapter 62 completed
After the conversation ended, the person in charge personally distributed living supplies to Chen Ming, including a gray military uniform without rank insignia, a notebook, a pencil, an enamel bowl, and so on.

Then he took Chen Ming to the communal cave dwelling where the trainees were staying and introduced him to the other comrades in the cave dwelling.

After four months of study, Chen Ming received orders to end his studies early and return to the front lines.

During these four months, Chen Ming had a very fulfilling time. He not only met many comrades, but also greatly improved his personal abilities and broadened his horizons, making up for his shortcomings.

In the rich atmosphere of this cradle of revolution, Chen Ming was deeply inspired. Everyone here was willing to dedicate everything to the great revolutionary cause.

Chen Ming's injuries no longer hurt, and he was full of energy and passion, as if he had been injected with adrenaline.

During those four months, Chen Ming was like a dried-up sponge, frantically absorbing all kinds of knowledge and constantly enriching himself.

He must live up to expectations, forging himself into a brick, becoming an insignificant piece in the great cause.

Chen Ming returned to the front lines with boundless expectations for the future.

Upon returning to the front lines, Chen Ming immediately reported for duty.

"Reporting, Chen Ming, commander of the Second Independent Regiment, reporting for duty, awaiting instructions!"

When the boss saw Chen Ming return, he smiled happily.

"Haha, you're back! You look even more energetic than before, after all these months."

He patted Chen Ming on the shoulder affectionately.

"Did you encounter any trouble on the way back?"

"No, everything went smoothly."

"That's good. I won't reminisce any longer. You'll be reporting back to the Second Independent Regiment soon. There will be combat missions soon, so don't let me down."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ming immediately stood at attention and saluted: "I guarantee to complete the mission."

It's already July, and the battle of the hundred groups is about to begin.

In May of that year, the German army launched a blitzkrieg against Western Europe, France surrendered, and Japan, encouraged by the Nazi victory, accelerated its "Southern Advance Policy." Some of the Japanese troops in North China were transferred south, leaving the defenses relatively weak.

At the same time, the National Revolutionary Army suffered repeated defeats in the Battle of Zaoyi, and its morale was low. It urgently needed a victory to boost the nation's confidence in the war of resistance.

Since 37, the Eighth Route Army has grown from 4.5 to over 40 troops, and has acquired the capability to launch large-scale raids.

Therefore, the General Headquarters decided to deploy 22 regiments to disrupt Japanese transportation lines, destroy strongholds, and restore communication between various base areas.

Chen Ming's Independent Second Regiment, as one of the main regiments under the 129th Division, naturally undertook important combat missions.

"The Second Independent Regiment has expanded to over 2,500 people after this period of development, making it a standard large regiment. The time has come to test your abilities," the commander said.

A group of a thousand people is only considered a small group; it tests the individual bravery of the commanders and soldiers.

Larger units, on the other hand, require the command wisdom of the officers and soldiers.

This was a test for Chen Ming from headquarters, as they replenished the Second Independent Regiment to a large regiment of over 2,500 men.

If you can lead the whole group well and have sufficient ability, it will be easier to promote them in the future.

"Yes."

Chen Ming was also very happy, as he had more troops under his command and more things to do.

"Alright, that's enough. Go back to the Second Independent Regiment and report for duty. Take the time to familiarize yourself with the unit and quickly build up your combat capability."

"Yes."

Chen Ming returned to the garrison of the Second Independent Regiment.

Upon arriving at the base, Chen Ming was greeted by a group of officers from the regiment.

"Captain."

"Commander, you're finally back! I've missed you so much!"

Chen Ming looked at the familiar faces and smiled.

"You've become more composed since I last saw you," Chen Ming said, patting Dafei on the shoulder.

"It's all thanks to the regimental commander's excellent teaching and the guidance from the headquarters leaders."

Dafei was very happy to be praised by Chen Ming.

"Tell me about the situation in the military," Chen Ming said.

Upon returning to the Second Independent Regiment, the most important thing was to understand the specific situation of the unit so that we could have a clear understanding of the situation. "Yes, sir."

"Our regiment now has 2,500 men, including three infantry battalions, each with more than 600 men."

"The regimental command consists of 103 people, including the staff group, the guard company, and the communications platoon."

"The regiment's directly subordinate sharpshooter company, machine gun company, mortar company, reconnaissance company, engineer company, and supply company, etc."

"In addition, there are about 400 people in the medical team, logistics department, political work team, etc."

"In terms of weaponry, there are eight mortars, forty-one light and heavy machine guns, and more than 1,300 rifles, but only thirty rounds of ammunition per person."

After listening to Dafei's report, Chen Ming felt more confident.

The current Independent Second Regiment has sufficient personnel, but there is still a shortage of weapons and ammunition. There is not enough rifles for every person, and the ammunition is also insufficient, with only thirty rounds per person.

They can't sustain a battle for too long.

Chen Ming could understand, after all, the Eighth Route Army's industry was backward, with a self-sufficiency rate of less than 30%, and a considerable portion of its weapons and ammunition had to be obtained through capture.

What if there's a shortage of weapons and equipment? Just ask the Japanese for more.

We had no guns or cannons, but the enemy made them for us.

Whatever weapons or equipment you need, just fight the Japanese once, and you'll have everything.

"Commander, our explosives reserves are running low. After the Japanese discovered that fertilizer could be used to make explosives, they imposed strict controls on fertilizer, and now we can only get a little bit here and there," Dafei continued.

Previously, they used the money they seized from the Japanese and puppet troops to buy fertilizer powder to make explosives to fight the Japanese invaders.

Thanks to the excellent explosive raw material, fertilizer powder, the Second Independent Regiment had a sufficient reserve of explosives and won several battles.

However, the Japanese army now strictly controls the use of hydatid powder, making it impossible to obtain it easily.

After the Second Independent Regiment ran out of fertilizer and explosives, they had no choice but to go back to using black powder, which had low yield and poor effectiveness.

However, even gunpowder is not so easy to obtain.

"It's alright, it was expected. Even without fertilizer powder, we can think of other ways," Chen Ming comforted Da Fei.

The use of Japanese military fumed powder to make explosives was a matter of adapting to local conditions and exploiting an information gap, so it's normal that it was discovered.

The Japanese weren't stupid. The fertilizer powder that was originally required to be forcibly distributed in their territory suddenly became easy to sell, and the Eighth Route Army's use of explosives also increased. There seemed to be something wrong with that.

Upon investigation, the Japanese army discovered that the Eighth Route Army had secretly purchased and distributed fertilizer powder, which was then used to make explosives.

The Japanese soldiers were furious when they found out that the gunpowder the enemy fired at them was actually supplied by themselves.

Strict controls were immediately imposed on fertilizer powder, and a number of traitors who sold fertilizer powder to the Eighth Route Army for profit were dealt with.

However, although the Japanese army had discovered it, our army's various units had already stockpiled a considerable amount of futa powder explosives.

That's enough to give the Japanese a hard time.

Even if we lose the source of explosives, ammonium nitrate, we can find other methods. Explosives are not limited to ammonium nitrate.

In the following period, Chen Ming tested Da Fei on his management of the Independent Second Regiment.

Without any hesitation, Dafei told Chen Ming everything that had happened during Chen Ming's absence, down to the smallest detail.

"Sigh, Kong Jie was still demoted to deputy regimental commander. I also forgot to tell Dafei about the equipment for the cavalry battalion in Wanjia Town and ask him to go and bring the horses back."

Chen Ming sighed inwardly.

Next, Chen Ming pointed out in detail the problems that Dafei had encountered during this period, and proposed methods for improvement and things to pay attention to.

Dafei is indeed a promising talent. In less than a year, he has risen from a soldier in a district squad to a deputy regimental-level officer.

Although the process of growing up was full of stumbles and mistakes, I still grew up in the end.

From now on, Chen Ming will no longer have to manage the Second Independent Regiment alone.

In the following period, Chen Ming quickly got into the swing of things and became familiar with the unit.

They allocated resources, trained the team, and prepared for the challenges ahead.

The headquarters' operational orders were also assigned to the Independent Second Regiment.

The Battle of the Hundred Regiments Offensive has officially begun.

(End of this chapter)